Public Body Can Now Direct FOIA Requesters to Website for Records
Although we reported last week on the passage of HB 3796 (the FOIA amendment), the "online records" provision of this new law may have gotten lost in all of the opposition to the
"voluminous request" provision of P.A. 98-1129.
A new section 8.5 to FOIA now states that a public body that posts records on its website need not provide copies of those online records in response to a FOIA
request. Instead, the public body can
direct the requester to the website where the record can be “reasonably
accessed.”
There is an exception to this new rule. If the requester is unable to reasonably
access the record online after being directed to the website, then the
requester can resubmit the request to the public body with a statement as to
his or her inability to access the record.
In that case, the public body is required to make the record available for
inspection or copying as otherwise required by FOIA.
Although there was some opposition to this provision from pro-transparency groups, this law should actually promote transparency because public bodies are likely to post more of their records online.
The law became effective on December 3, 2014, when the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto.
New section 8.5 is reprinted below:
The law became effective on December 3, 2014, when the Senate voted to override the Governor’s veto.
New section 8.5 is reprinted below:
Post Authored by Julie TappendorfSec. 8.5. Records maintained online.(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the contrary, a public body is not required to copy a public record that is published on the public body's website. The public body shall notify the requester that the public record is available online and direct the requester to the website where the record can be reasonably accessed.(b) If the person requesting the public record is unable to reasonably access the record online after being directed to the website pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, the requester may re-submit his or her request for the record stating his or her inability to reasonably access the record online, and the public body shall make the requested record available for inspection or copying as provided in Section 3 of this Act.
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